Happy 100th birthday, National Parks Service

National Park Week is April 16 to 24, 2016. It's about making great connections, exploring amazing places, discovering open spaces, enjoying affordable vacations and enhancing America’s best idea—the national parks!

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National Park Week is April 16 to 24, 2016. It's about making great connections, exploring amazing places, discovering open spaces, enjoying affordable vacations and enhancing America’s best idea—the national parks!

National parks celebrate 100 years with four free entrance days in April

In celebration of its 100th anniversary and National Park Week, the National Park Service is waiving park entrance fees during two weekends in April.

April 15-16 and 22-23 will be free days at the 118 national parks that normally charge an entrance fee, according to a news release. Entrance to the remainder of the more than 400 national parks is always free.

The fee waiver includes entrance, commercial tour and transportation entrance fees. Other fees – such as those for reservations, camping, tours, concessions and fees collected by third parties – are not included unless stated otherwise, according to the news release.

The following is the list of California parks monuments and recreation areas opening their gates for free:

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The lighthouse that is the focus of Cabrillo National Monument is another National Park Service feature that will be open free to the public for two weekends in April as part of the 2017 National Parks Week. Ellen Creager / Detroit Free Press/ MCT

A series of volcanoes a century ago created many of the favorite attractions within the park. There is still a lot of geothermal activity with its boundaries, like Devil's Kitchen. Video by Sam McManis of The Sacramento Bee

Redwood Creek flows through the 500-year-old California Redwoods in Cathedral and Bohemian groves in Muir Woods National Monument, which will offer free admission April 15-16 and April 22-23 as part of the National Parks Week celebration. MANNY CRISOSTOMO / The Sacramento Bee